Ever get home from a flight and check ADDS or DUATS to see if your PIREP was entered correctly, only to find it's not there at all? This has happened to most pilots at least once. It's a bit frustrating because Flight Service Specialists and the FAA are always encouraging us to submit PIREPs as often as possible, not to mention it's required by regulation to report unforecast weather conditions. As pilots, we value PIREPs because they help us put together an accurate picture of the weather conditions that are actually existing. That's why it's a bummer when we go to the trouble of giving reports and then have them get lost in the shuffle.
I once got my butt kicked in mountain wave turbulence while flying in IMC over the Ouchita Mountains in Arkansas. There was no AIRMET or forecast for the turbulence before, during, or after my flight. I made a PIREP to the controller and described the turbulence as "continuous moderate chop." There may've been an occasional "severe" bump or two in there. The controller acknowledged my transmission, I landed and checked ADDS, and my PIREP was nowhere to be found. At least I did my part. I guess the controller didn't do his.
I was browsing through ASRS reports yesterday. That's something I do every so often just to see what kinds of issues pilots are reporting. One pilot made a report about his PIREP not being filed and suggested that the FAA consider implementing an online interface that would allow pilots to enter their own PIREPs once on the ground. You know, that's not a bad idea.
The only problem would be the time delay, but filing a delayed report is better than having your report never make it into the system at all. I could see how an online PIREP system like this could be easily created in DUATS. Seems cheap and feasible.
The best solution, though, would be for controllers (and Flight Service Specialists, although I have a hunch controllers are worse about this because they tend to have higher workloads) to reliably and consistently enter PIREPs into the system every time.
If they want us to give them, they need to let us know they're valued and appreciated. I bet there will be an online PIREP submission system up and running within the next five years. Let's see if I'm right...
